Thoughts, words, and actions

I strive to be mindful not just about what I write or say, but about to whom I direct those words, about where and how I speak or write them, and about when I speak them. Sometimes, my efforts bear fruit, and I choose my words, my audience, my venue, my timing, well. Other times, my efforts fall short. Or worse, I fail to try.

So too with my actions: at my best, they reflect my mindful intention. At my worst, they are thoughtless, mindless, cruel.

I don’t know that I differ from anyone else in these regards.

And for me – and for many people – the hardest thing is to keep straight which is which. To remember that my thoughts aren’t words, even if they are worded, and that they rarely are actions.